A Precious Jewel

02.03.10
J.A. Matteson

"You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did." Acts 7:51

Stephen experienced that among those who claim allegiance to I AM, nothing is more sinister, vicious, treacherous, and lethal than religious fanaticism divorced from the work of the Spirit. Circumcision of the heart produces a pliable spirit, one inclined toward obedience to the Word of the Lord. An uncircumcised heart is opposed to the Word of the Lord for it cuts at fallen human pride. Stephen, empowered by the Holy Spirit, spoke truth to these men, truth which they could not deny, truth that pierced the core of their sinful nature, and their response to it was raw anger bent on silencing or suppressing the truth he spoke. To malign and silence the Word of God is the nature of the uncircumcised in heart who, “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18).

Oddly enough the uncircumcised in heart, these emissaries of Satan, find a certain comfort and enjoyment in the company of the true children of Abraham. But they are thorns and thistles among the children of promise, prickly and irritating voices that are continually driven by the lusts of the flesh, professing an allegiance to the Beloved, but denying their bold assertions by their attitudes and deeds. They crave recognition by men and their tongues make great boasts, an outward piousness characterizes them while the fruit of their lives is bitter. A spiritual disconnect characterizes their profession from their practice. Like a moth attracted to the light of night these servants of Beelzebub are strangely attracted to the light cast by the children of God, going so far as to alter their appearance as a chameleon so as to be undetected.

The Lord Jesus spoke of these as tares in God’s field and early on they appear to be young stocks of wheat. A hallmark of tares amidst God’s wheat is their aversion to the light of Scripture. As those uncircumcised in heart (unregenerate) their allegiance to the Lord and His Word is superficial and when put to the test they fall away and become unfruitful. Amidst the body of Christ tares attempt to hinder the Spirit, aiming to retard His work within the children of grace as they perform His work in the world. Opposed to the living oracles of God tares prefer titillating entertainment to edification, correction, and rebuke. Comfortable in their lusts tares reject correction by the Scripture, are unrepentant, and lash out at envoys of the Lord who declare the righteousness of the Lord. These find the living Word of the Lord boring, irrelevant, confusing, burdensome, and restrictive. They prefer and suggest spiritual nourishment by alternate means, leaning instead to the teachings and doctrines of men. Above all tares detest their sin being exposed, unlike the circumcised in heart that are tender to the correction of the Spirit, tares exhibit a hardness of heart, a defiance to correction that contradicts their testimony.

By contrast the circumcised of heart manifest a faith that cannot be extinguished, that hopes all things, believes all things, that never fades away. They perceive with spiritual eyes the unseen things of God and discern His providences in all things. And foundationally their faith is firmly grounded in the Scriptures wherein the sweet promises of God are revered as a precious jewel for which the saint will unhesitatingly exchange all that the world has to offer to obtain and keep. The circumcised of heart love the Scripture. They love its study, meditation, and application for in so doing they come nearer and nearer to the God of the Word. The children of promise instinctively rejoice in sharing the Scriptures that others might by the grace of God come to the knowledge of the truth. None of these things is true of the tares whose activity is centered on suppressing the Word of God both within the church and in the world through humanistic entertainment. The power of the Spirit is in His Word; preach the Word and God’s redemptive power will build His church.

Copyright (c) 2010 Immutable Word Ministries ("...the word of our God stands forever." Isa. 40:8).